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June 8: Cam Neely

The one that Vancouver let get away. Could Cody Hodgson be the modern era version of the Cam Neely? Who knows really, but I can tell you this. Cam is one of my favorite all time players. Between himself and Trevor Linden, I have a hard time figuring out who was my favorite Canuck player. Yes even as a Leafs fan, I have favorites on other teams. I’d have taken either player with the Blue and White any day of the week.

As we all know, Cam Neely had his battles. More notably with Claude Lemieux. Their hatred for each other runs deep and made for an interesting story line. We all love reading about who hangs out with who in the NHL. But we all need a good rivalry from a player vs player perspective. It’s akin to enforcer vs enforcer, but this was a bit more unique. Cam Neely was and still is considered one of the best power forwards ever to play the game. He is of the same ilk as a Todd Bertuzzi. Soft hands, one hell of an ugly mug and command instant admiration from their fan base. NOTE: I don’t excuse Todd’s actions in his career, but everyone deserves a second chance. Right?

What I like most about Cam Neely is his signature. It is one of the nicest sigs in the game.

The neat thing is that no card company could possibly screw up the placement of his autograph. Upside down or right side up, it is still a gorgeous autograph. Even the number 8 is immune to the incorrect placement of stick autographs.

Cam has played a villain both on film and on the ice. Dumb and Dumber anyone?

Cam has been a part of Boston Bruins management for quite some time and finally got his Stanley Cup Ring. I wish he could have gotten it as a player but he wasn’t able to. Now here is something to chew on. Look at the teams that Boston had to face during his playing years. The young Gretzky led Edmonton Oilers, the wickedly awesome Montreal Canadiens. The Bruins just couldn’t match up well against them. Those teams were dynasties. They tried and couldn’t match. Cam always wore his heart on his sleeves and I admired that. He could fight, he could hit and he could sure score some nice goals.
It is even more special, that he shares the same jersey number as Alex Ovechkin. A banger and crasher himself. Only the best can wear #8.
Cam, you were one hell of a player. So you are the choice feature of my June 8th post.